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The Print
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Killing of Lashkar's Razaullah Nizamani delivers justice for Bengaluru terror attack, 20 years on
Few witnesses even recalled seeing one of the two men raise his Kalashnikov assault rifle and open fire. Three people, including a pregnant woman, were injured in the 2005 attack. Munish Puri, a mathematics professor working at IIT-New Delhi, died on his way to a hospital. Two men in combat fatigues walked over to the delegates as they shuffled out of the Tata Auditorium at the end of a long day's discussions on the role of operations research in infrastructure projects. New Delhi: The white Ambassador car had pulled in through the gates of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru just as a conference was ending. 'This guy's managed to make it here just in time for dinner,' one of the delegates at the conference would later remember thinking. This week, unidentified gunmen shot dead Razaullah Nizamani, the man who operated the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) cell that carried out the killings at IISc 20 years ago. For years, Nizamani helped organise cells of Lashkar jihadists operating outside of Kashmir, reporting to military commander Azam Cheema and top leader Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi. For more than 15 years, two sources who spoke with Nizamani's friends in Pakistan told ThePrint, Nizamani lived in his family home in Matli, southwest of Hyderabad, the provincial capital of Sindh. Living off rents from family lands and a small business run by his children, he never discussed his past with neighbours or friends, the sources said. Although the 56-year-old occasionally participated in events organised by the Milli Muslim League, set up by LeT to contest elections in 2007, Nizamani never fought elections, according to the sources. He was not among several high-profile Lashkar leaders who were detained after 26/11 and later prosecuted on terror financing charges. Earlier this year, 'unidentified gunmen', accused by Pakistan of being agents of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), gunned down Zia-ur-Rahman. He was one of over two dozen terrorists and former terrorists brought down in similar drive-by killings. Also Read: Fidayeen factories of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke, Jaish in Bahawalpur targeted in Operation Sindoor The Deccan campaign Late in 1999, Lashkar leaders Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and Abdul Rehman Makki began two parallel efforts to set up terror networks that would target cities outside Kashmir. The organisation declared its intention at a February 2000 rally at its headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore, to 'liberate Hyderabad from Indian rule'. The Lashkar's supreme leader, Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, also used the occasion to proclaim that Hyderabad and Junagadh were among its highest priorities. Through the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the Lashkar reached out to organised crime figures like Gujarat ganglord Rasool Khan 'Party' to identify recruits and arrange for their transport, according to the sources. Aftab Ansari, another organised crime figure reputed to have been radicalised in prison by British-born jihadist Syed Omar Sheikh, played a similar role. A second thread of Lashkar recruitment, though, relied on recruitment among the Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Through one-time Nalgonda resident Abdul Rehman, court documents show, the Lashkar recruited several Indian nationals to provide logistics and shelter for Pakistani jihadists who would operate in India. The group also raised funds which were used, among other things, to finance the IISc attack. The operation also recruited over a dozen men from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, most notably Sabauddin Ahmad—who was arrested and convicted together with Maharashtra resident Fahim Arshad Ansari for multiple terror operations. Fidayeen trained for the attack were provided by Azam Cheema, who routed them to Lashkar safe-houses in India through Kathmandu. Nizamani may have travelled to Nepal to help organise safehouses, intelligence sources said, but there is no robust evidence to back up the proposition. American scholar C. Christine Fair has noted Cheema was a prominent figure in the Lashkar's Kashmir operations, appearing publicly at commemorations for terrorists slain in India. The terrorist who carried out the actual attack at IISc, though, was never identified. Zabiuddin Ansari, the Maharashtra-born Lashkar operative being tried for his alleged role in 26/11, said he attended the burial of the killer, code-named Abu Hamza, after he died of a protracted illness. Ali Assham, a Maldives national whom Indian intelligence suspected to have also participated in the attack, was deported from Sri Lanka to Maldives in 2006. He was never prosecuted. Five men, together with Abdul Rehman, received prison sentences for providing funds and logistics for the Lashkar as part of a plan to execute multiple bombings and fidayeen attacks in Bengaluru. The RSS headquarters attack Leading up to 26/11, Nizamani's name figured in investigations of an increasingly audacious series of attacks carried out on high-profile targets across India. In the summer of 2006, three Pakistani nationals—Afzal Ahmad and Bilal Ahmed Butta, both believed to be residents of Lahore, along with Muhammad Usman from Gujranwala—attempted to stage an attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's headquarters in Nagpur. The men were armed with assault rifles, police records seen by ThePrint show, as well as Arges grenades, licenced-manufactured at a Pakistan ordnance factory that supplies its military. Intelligence Bureau (IB) operatives, who government sources told ThePrint had successfully infiltrated the operation, also discovered that the men had a notebook containing several telephone numbers of Lashkar commanders. A phone number used by Nizamani was among them. The Lashkar's plan, Indian intelligence officials believe, was to ship weapons and explosives to the multiple cells that Nizamani helped operate, enabling them to stage independent operations. In April 2005, though, the Maharashtra Police intercepted a massive weapons cache, which included 24 kg of RDX, along with grenades, assault rifles and ammunition, all shipped from Karachi in fishing boats. Following the failure of multiple operations involving Indian operatives, the Lashkar is believed to have decided to stage 26/11 using only its Pakistani cadre to avoid penetration by India's intelligence services. Nizamani and other mid-level Lashkar personnel involved in the Indian operations were likely kept out of the planning of 26/11, an intelligence officer familiar with the case said. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: From his lair, JeM chief Masood Azhar calls on jihadists to fight for 'vengeance' against India
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Business Standard
18-05-2025
- Business Standard
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Nizamani killed by unidentified gunmen in Sindh
Nizamani, who had been provided security by the Pakistani government, had left his residence at Matli in Sindh this afternoon and he was gunned down by assailants near a crossing, the officials said Press Trust of India New Delhi
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Abu Saiullah, key LeT commander behind major attacks in India, killed in Pakistan
A key Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, Razaullah Nizamani alias Abu Saiullah, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday in Pakistan's Sindh province. Nizamani was the commander of LeT and was the brain behind the 2006 attack on the RSS headquarters and several other major attacks in India. According to a report by the news agency PTI, Razaullah Nizamani had left his residence at Matli in Sindh on Sunday afternoon. He was then gunned down by the assailants near a crossing at the Matli Phalkara chowk, not very far from his residence. He had reportedly been provided security by the Pakistani government. Razaullah Nizamani alias Abu Saiullah was a top commander of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was part of a module that was active in terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, apart from being involved in several attacks on Indian soil. He was known to be the mastermind of the attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters at Nagpur back in 2006. Apart from that attack, the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative was also involved in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) attack in Karnataka's Bengaluru in 2005. Nizamani was also behind the terror strike at a CRPF camp at Uttar Pradesh's Rampur in 2001, which killed seven personnel. Nizamani was also allegedly involved with LeT's Nepal module, handling financing, recruitment, and logistics. He also helped several of the outfit's operatives move into India through the Indo-Nepal border. Nizamani worked with Lashkar's Azam Cheema and the outfit's chief accountant, Yaqoob. He was based in Sindh's Matli, where he was killed on Sunday, and was focused on fundraising and recruitment for LeT and Jamat-ud-Dawa. Nizamani had another alias, Vinod Kumar, and was reportedly married to a Nepali citizen.
Deccan Herald
18-05-2025
- Deccan Herald
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Razaullah Nizamani, who plotted 2006 RSS HQ attack, killed by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan
Nizamani, who had been provided security by the Pakistani government, had left his residence at Matli in Sindh this afternoon and he was gunned down by assailants near a crossing, the officials said.
Voice of America
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Taliban urge Pakistan, Iran to slow return of Afghan nationals
Afghanistan's Taliban Thursday called on neighbors Pakistan and Iran to be patient with Afghan refugees and follow an organized process for their return, considering Afghanistan's economic challenges. Pakistan and Iran have sent back more than 2.7 million Afghans to their home country since the 20-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan ended in August 2021. Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban acting minister of refugees and repatriation affairs, separately met with Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani, Pakistan's charge d'affaires in Afghanistan, and Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan, Alireza Bekdali, in Kabul. In a post on social media platform X, the Afghan ministry said Kabir expressed hope that the 'host countries will exercise patience and forbearance toward refugees.' 'Islamic Emirate encourages Afghan refugees to return to the country,' said the statement. 'But due to lack of conditions at home, host countries should consider organized return process instead of forced deportation, and act according to a gradual mechanism.' Afghan expulsion Since Pakistan launched a drive in late 2023 to remove foreign nationals residing illegally in the country, citing security concerns, more than 825,000 Afghans have left, according to data compiled by the U.N. High Commission for Refugees. However, only a small fraction — roughly 40,000 — have been deported. Pakistan approved a multistage plan in late January targeting nearly 3 million Afghan citizens. It includes legally declared refugees, documented as well as undocumented migrants, and those awaiting relocation to the United States and other Western countries. That plan calls for repatriating documented Afghan migrants and undocumented Afghan citizens in Phase 1. It also calls for the removal of Afghans awaiting third-country relocation from Islamabad by March 31. Last July, Pakistan extended the validity of Proof of Registration, or POR, cards for Afghan refugees until June 30, 2025. The government's January plan to expel Afghans says POR card holders will be dealt with later. Driven largely by economic concerns, Iran deported more than 1.8 million Afghans between 2022 and 2024, according to aid website Relief Web that takes data from UNHCR. Last September, Tehran announced it plans to deport up to 2 million by March 2025. Time needed Kabir called on Iran and Pakistan to slow the pace of returns until bilateral mechanisms are put in place. 'Time should be given to hold bilateral and trilateral meetings in this regard,' the statement said. Nizamani, Pakistan's top diplomat in Afghanistan, said refugees are not a political tool, according to the Afghan ministry's post. 'He said that Pakistan's future is linked to Afghanistan, therefore, it does not use Afghan refugees as political tools, but wants the problems to be resolved through understanding,' the refugee ministry said on X. A request to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, seeking confirmation of Nizamani's remarks, was not returned. Iranian ambassador Bekdali called for a permanent solution to the issue, the Taliban ministry said. 'We want to see the illegal migrants living in Iran, refugees, provided with the necessary legal documents,' the statement quoted Bekadli as saying. There was no immediate confirmation from Bekdali's office regarding his remarks. Refugee rights groups and human rights watchdogs have repeatedly called on Iran and Pakistan to ensure that the rights of Afghan refugees and undocumented migrants are protected, and they are not forced to return to Afghanistan, where the economy is in shambles, the majority relies on aid, and women face severe curbs on basic rights and liberties.
